'Threshold Singers' Bring Music To The Dying

We spent some time this morning with women in Wisconsin who honor the ancient tradition of singing at the bedsides of people who are struggling: some with living, some with dying.

Some people call them “deathbed choirs.” But those who perform the service prefer to call themselves “Threshold Singers.” The people we spoke with belong to the national Threshold Singers chapter in Madison.

“We sing for people who are seriously ill, for people who are dying, and for people who are grieving. We don't consider ourselves entertainers — that's not what we do — we sing to heal. We're like music therapists.”

“We don't sing with the whole choir at once. We only sing with a maximum of four of us. And we sing very, very softly. Because we don't want to intrude or overwhelm. We want to reach people at their heart level. And we really want to be just kind of floating above them.”

Terry Bell: “Most of the music is rather soothing, but it doesn't necessarily have to be, does it? It could be something rather boisterous, if that's what the situation called for, right?”

“We'd been singing for a gentleman — he was usually quite agitated, and often wants the songs to end. And then, we got a different list of songs — and we sang ‘A Bicycle Built for Two'. And this man, his eyes flew WIDE open, and he started singing with us — it was like the room was ELECTRIFIED. We had finally reached him. ‘A Bicycle Built for Two' – who knew?!”

“I had sang at my grandmother's deathbed, and sat at my father's deathbed and sang to him, so I was very interested in continuing that because I really saw that it helped the spirit lift. And I felt great joy when I did it.”

“There are other groups that sing at bedsides that are co-ed. But the Threshold Choir organization was founded as women-only. People have different beliefs and theories behind it, but one is the idea that women throughout history have been the midwives that usher in life, and they should be the ones at the gate at the other end -– to help people across the threshold to the next life.”

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